


Decisions

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Drama/Romance, M/F - Category
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 05:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/794559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mariah has surprising news for Blair.  Part of the Tangled Web of Love series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decisions

Disclaimer: Jim, Blair, and Simon, as well as Cascade, the Corvair, Jim's truck, and the loft belong to UPN and Pet Fly Productions. The sisters and their belongings are mine, as are any other original aspects of the story. I'm making no money, and you can't get blood out of a poor working peon, so please don't sue. 

Hey, I've come up with a name for the series, which was a big relief! The name of the series is "The Tangled Web of Love". This story takes place several months after "Past into Present" and has the characters from the previous installments. 

In this story, / indicate thoughts, * indicate emphasis. 

With sincere thanks to my beta readers: Brandy, Yvonne, and Linda. They made wonderful suggestions, whether I took them or not was up to me, so don't hold anything against them. 

This contains implied m/f relationships and some language. 

## Decisions

by Gabrielle Bessey  
6/12/97  


Mariah stretched across Blair's chest, rubbing her fingers across his nipples as she played with his chest hair. A wicked smile crossed her face as she heard him groan. 

"No, please, no more...I can't." 

Mariah chuckled. "What? The insatiable Blair has reached the limits of his endurance?" 

Blair laughed as he pulled her farther onto his body. "You're the one who's insatiable lately. Been taking your vitamins?" 

"You could say that." 

They relaxed in the early morning light, content to laze in bed. Mariah took a deep breath. "Blair?" 

"Yeah, babe?" 

"I'm pregnant." 

The hand that had been slowly stroking her back stilled, and he was silent for a long time. 

"Are you still with me, Blair?" 

"I'm not sure." 

"Okay." Mariah climbed out of bed and grabbed her robe. 

"I'm going downstairs to make some breakfast." She moved to the door and looked back at him. 

"I'll be down in a minute." Blair moved to sit on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. 

"Take your time." Mariah left him sitting there. 

The minute she walked out of the door, Blair's head dropped into his hands.   
  


* * *

Jim watched Blair all day--knowing there was something seriously wrong. No matter how hard he tried to get him to talk, Blair wouldn't say a word. 

That night, Jim couldn't help but hear Blair toss and turn in his bedroom. When he finally heard Blair's breathing even out in sleep, he looked at the clock--it was 3:20 a.m. 

The next morning, Jim woke to find a peaceful Blair preparing breakfast. He slid the eggs onto plates, put toast on them, then put the plates on the table. They sat down and began to eat. When they finished and Blair was putting the dishes in the sink, he cleared his throat as he looked at Jim. 

"Uh, Jim, I've got to take care of something this morning. I'll meet you at the station later, okay?" 

"Sure, Chief, I'll see you later."   
  


* * *

Blair waved to the guard at the front desk. With a soft buzz, he was allowed entrance to the elevator that would take him to Mariah's office. As the elevator ascended, he practiced his speech. He'd lain awake half the night, arguing with himself over what he should do. The thought of getting married was even more scary than becoming a father, but he was determined not to screw this up. 

Mariah looked up from her desk when she heard the elevator ding. She smiled her welcome and moved from behind the desk to hug Blair. 

"I'm so glad to see you. I was worried." 

Blair shifted from one foot to the other as he smiled at her. Mariah stared at him, knowing the only time he did this was when he was very nervous. 

"What's wrong?" 

Blair grabbed her hand. "Look, I've been thinking a lot about this. I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday. This whole thing really threw me for a loop." 

Mariah smiled. "You're not the only one." 

He held up his hand and turned puppy dog eyes to her. "Please, I have to get through this in one shot." 

Mariah nodded and leaned against the desk. 

Blair took a deep breath and released it. "Okay, I know this is a surprise to both of us and that we didn't plan it. I hadn't really thought about the whole marriage/family thing--well, okay, maybe it did pass through my mind once or twice. Oh, man, there's so much to think about--your sisters are going to kill me, but maybe we can have the ceremony at the restaurant, unless you want to have it in a church." 

Blair began to pace the length of the office. "Hmm, that could be a problem. I mean, I'm not a practicing Jew, but I would like to honor some of the customs." 

Mariah placed a hand on Blair's arm as he paced by her. "What are you talking about?" 

"The wedding." Blair turned puzzled eyes on Mariah. 

"Why are we getting married?" 

"Because of the baby." 

"Blair, I don't want to get married. I like things the way they are." 

"Not get..." Blair stared at her. "You've always argued that children need two parents--every time you hear about the way kids act these days. I mean, you practically ripped that detective to shreds at the Policeman's Ball when he was going on about kids today. How can you..." 

Blair stopped in mid-sentence. "You're not thinking about getting an abortion, are you?" 

Mariah stared at him, resisting the urge to punch him. Her voice was low with anger when she spoke. "I can't *believe* you just asked me that." 

"Then why the hell won't you marry me?!?!" Blair was bordering on the edge of panic now. 

Mariah threw up her hands. "Hell, if I know. Every time I even think about getting married, I get this huge knot in the pit of my stomach, and I can barely breathe. I can't do it...I just can't do it." 

She moved closer to Blair. "And I'm not getting an abortion. Besides, I didn't think you wanted to get married. What about your work with Jim, your studies? What's gotten into you?" 

Blair sat down in her chair and sighed. "At first, I kept thinking that this is not a problem. I'll still be able to work with Jim, and I can still go on expeditions. Then I had this vision of me coming home from a trip and the kid not knowing who I am." 

Blair turned to Mariah, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I know how much it hurts to know that your father doesn't care, and I can't do that to someone else...I won't." 

Mariah moved around the desk and put her arms around Blair. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I don't want you to leave, and I fully expect you to be there for the first word, the first step, the first talk about sex...." she closed her eyes, "God, I don't want to go there." 

Mariah cupped Blair's face in her hands. "I love you, Blair. You got me into this, you're going to be there for the dirty diapers, the 2 a.m. feedings, and teething. Got it?" 

Blair nodded and leaned down to kiss her. "Got it." 

He breathed a huge sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around Mariah, pulling her into his lap. "Now, tell me everything the doctor said." 

Mariah snuggled against him. "I'm nine weeks, and the doctor says everything looks great." 

She leaned away from him to study his face. "Are you positive or negative?" 

"What?" 

"I'm O+, what are you? If you're negative, I need to get a shot to counter any problems with the difference in blood type." 

"I'm A+." 

They held each other for a long time. 

"Blair?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I don't want to tell anyone yet." 

"Why not?" 

"I'd like to get through the first trimester, just to make sure." 

"Whatever you want to do." 

"Thanks, love."   
  


* * *

Four weeks later, Blair and Mariah pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store a block from Lauren's apartment. 

They were standing in front of the refrigerator case, trying to decide on a brand of orange juice, when they heard the shouts. There was no time to hide when two masked men came around the corner of an aisle, waving their guns at them. 

Blair and Mariah raised their hands, and he moved in front of her to protect her. 

"Look, man, we won't give you any trouble..." 

"Shut the fuck up!" The gunman with the red stocking cap screamed at Blair and pushed him out of the way. He backhanded Mariah across the face and watched her fall against the door. 

The second gunman wrapped his hands around Blair's throat as he pushed him against the glass door. Blair looked into the gunman's eyes and saw death. He was suddenly grateful that he'd gone with Mariah to some of her workouts and had picked up some moves--he had a better chance of getting out of the situations that always seemed to find him since he started working with Jim. Using the knowledge he'd gained, he shifted his body into action. Throwing an inverted punch to the gunman's diaphragm, Blair heard the sudden expulsion of air. He swung his fist and connected with the guy's cloth-covered nose, hearing the crunch of broken bone. Blair brought his knee up into his attacker's groin and watched as the man crumpled. Blair hit him on the back of the head with a 3-liter bottle of Coke to make sure he was going to stay down. 

While Blair was fighting off his attacker, Mariah was shaking off the pain that made her want to throw up. Seeing the first man coming at her, she made a fist, ensuring that the middle knuckle of her middle finger was extended. After one punch, the gunman grabbed his throat and gasped for air. The next moment, he was writhing on the ground and moaning after Mariah kicked his knee and broke it. With a quick right to his cheek, he was out cold. 

Blair and Mariah dropped to the ground next to the unconscious men, and he motioned toward the office. 

"You go call the police, I'll go see what's happening up front." 

They could still hear another robber up front yelling at the clerk. Mariah picked up the 9mm Beretta one of the gunmen had dropped, made sure a round was chambered, and handed it to Blair. He looked at it with distaste, and Mariah pushed it into his hand. 

"He's got one, Blair, and I refuse to raise this baby alone." 

Mariah crawled away and headed for the office. She dialed 911 and, after giving the details, crawled back out and headed toward the front of the store. 

Blair worked his way toward the counter, but he didn't see the third gunman. He checked on the clerk, who was alive but unconscious, then heard the gun cock from the other side of the counter. Standing quickly, he found himself staring at the third man. 

When Mariah reached the front of the store, she gasped, and the last robber turned to look at her peeking around a stack of potato chips. 

The man with blue stocking cap grinned at Mariah, then Blair. "Well, what do we have here?" 

Blair turned to ice. "Leave her out of this, and put your gun down." 

"Oooh, I'm scared." The man edged the tiniest bit toward Mariah. "What are you gonna do if I don't?' 

Blair tracked him with the gun. "If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you." 

The guy acted as if he were going to move toward Mariah, then turned back towards Blair. He began to squeeze the trigger, but Blair was a second faster. The first bullet splintered the gunman's left cheek; the remaining eight bullets from the Beretta riddled his body, and he fell backward into the aisle. 

Mariah cautiously moved around the chips and stood beside Blair as they stared down at the blood inching away from the body. Blair turned and pulled Mariah into his arms, and she began to sob as the reality of the situation hit her. 

The whole event happened in a matter of minutes. 

Jim and Lauren burst through the door with guns drawn. They'd heard the gunshots and the sirens and rushed toward the store, their hearts stopping when they saw Mariah's Jeep in the parking lot. 

Stopping inside the door, Jim and Lauren made sure Blair and Mariah were okay, with Jim removing the gun from Blair's hand as he held Mariah. 

They cuffed the unconscious gunmen, then returned to find EMTs checking Mariah's face. 

Jim moved behind Blair. "How is she?" 

Blair looked at Jim, then back at Mariah. "They say she'll have a hell of a bruise, but she'll be fine. They're going to take her to the ER and do a complete checkup. I'm going to ride down with her. Can one of you follow us down and pick us up?" 

"Yeah, sure." Jim took the keys to the Jeep from Blair. 

Blair looked down at the body of the gunman with a detached expression on his face. 

"Are you okay, Chief?" 

"Yeah, Jim, I'm fine." Blair followed the EMTs out to the ambulance and climbed aboard. 

Jim walked back to Lauren and watched the ambulance leave. 

"How are they?" 

"Mariah's going to have a bruise, but she'll be okay. I'm more worried about Blair." 

Lauren laid a hand on Jim's arm. "Is he okay?" 

"Blair just killed a man, and when I talked to him, it was like he'd swatted a fly." 

"We'll get him into the department shrink, Jim. He'll be okay." 

"Yeah, I guess. Better call Simon and tell him dinner's delayed."   
  


* * *

Lauren drove the Jeep down to the hospital to pick up Blair and Mariah. They were quiet on the way back to Lauren's. The moment they stepped in the door, Blair and Mariah were swept into hugs. Everyone separated into groups, with Lauren and Jen hovering over Mariah and Simon and Jim talking to Blair. 

"C'mon, guys, it's only a bruise. I'm going to be fine." Mariah continued to watch Blair as the other men talked to him. 

"Are you sure you're okay, Chief? I think you should talk to department shrink. I mean, you emptied a full clip into that guy." Jim looked worriedly at Blair. 

Simon voiced his concern as well. "Jim's right, Blair. You've never been in this situation before." 

Blair raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll go. I was just emptying the clip like I was taught." He took a deep breath, and his heartbeat sped up a little. "But it won't change anything. I did what I had to do." 

"What was that, Chief?" Jim watched Blair's face as he listened to his heartbeat. 

"Protect my own." Blair's eyes were on Mariah, and when he saw her watching him, she smiled. Lauren and Jen followed as Mariah made her way to Blair's side and wrapped her arms around his body. She pressed the unbruised side of her face against his cheek and sighed when Blair rubbed against her. They paired off into couples, and Jim relaxed into Lauren as he opened up his senses to all of them--just to make sure everyone was okay. 

Blair noticed the look on Jim's face as he began to zone out. "Hey, man, what's up?" 

Jim shook his head. "There's something weird here. I'm picking up a funny sound." 

Blair switched into Guide mode. "Okay, focus and filter out what you know." 

Jim listened and filtered out the familiar sounds until he was left with heartbeats. Blair's he knew as well as his own, and Simon's and Lauren's were very familiar. He heard Mariah's and Jen's as well, filtering them out until he was left with one extra...that...came...from... 

Jim moved to stand in front of Mariah and heard the rapid flutter of a heart located in the vicinity of her belly. Raising his eyes, he encountered Mariah's startled ones. 

"It's you." 

Blair and Mariah stared at each other, then at Jim. 

"What's me?" Mariah asked. 

Jim smiled gently and place his palm against Mariah's belly. "The sound I'm hearing is another heartbeat that's lying right here." 

There was silence, then choruses of "when" and "why didn't you say anything", followed by more hugs. 

Mariah held up her hands to silence them as Blair wrapped his arms around her. 

"I didn't--we didn't--want to tell anyone until the second trimester. We were going to tell everyone next week at dinner." 

Jen smiled. "So, when's the wedding." 

Jim noticed the sudden increase in heartbeat and breathing in both Blair and Mariah. He watched as Mariah tightened her hold on Blair. 

"There's not going to be a wedding." 

The apartment was as silent as a cemetery. Lauren and Jen looked at Blair, Jim and Simon looked at each other. 

Mariah stopped her sisters before they could start in on Blair. "He asked, practically demanded in fact, that we get married. I said no, so don't start ragging on him. I don't want to get married again." 

Her sisters opened their mouths to say something, but Mariah stopped them. "This is not up for discussion." 

It took a while before conversation was back up to full speed, but by the end of the evening, everyone realized that Mariah meant what she said--there would be no group discussion on marriage.   
  


* * *

The next morning, Mariah stood in front of the loft door with bagels and pastries in her hand. She knocked softly, knowing that Jim would hear her even if Blair didn't. 

Jim opened the door and smiled, pulling Mariah into a hug. 

"How are you feeling today?" 

Mariah smiled and hugged him back. "Like I went one on one with Evander Holyfield." 

She headed for the kitchen and began taking plates out of cupboards. Blair walked of his room, stretching and rubbing his eyes. He caught Mariah in a hug and twirled her around, capturing her mouth in a kiss that made Mariah melt against him. 

Jim watched them and chuckled. "You know, that's how you two got into trouble in the first place." 

Mariah and Blair both laughed. Blair patted Mariah's belly and reached around her to grab a cup of coffee. When she grabbed a cup as well, he gave her an intent stare. 

She looked back at Blair with innocent eyes. "What?" 

He nodded at the cup. "Are you supposed to drink that?" 

Mariah rolled her eyes at Jim as she put the breakfast breads on a plate and put them in the middle of the table. She put the rest of the plates down, along with silverware, butter, cream cheese, and jelly. "The doc said I could have one cup a day. You can slap my hand if I go back for more." 

Blair snorted. "Remind me to talk to Dr. Smith when we go for the sonogram." 

Mariah patted Blair's hand as she reached for a bagel. "Yes, dear." 

Jim sat back and watched the whole interchange without laughing out loud. They ate breakfast amid laughter as Blair related the latest excuses his students were giving for not studying or completing assignments. As they sat in the morning sun, Blair and Jim enjoying another cup of coffee while Mariah drank milk, she suddenly snapped her fingers. She dug into her purse and pulled out some papers, pushing them toward Blair. 

"You need to fill those out, Blair." 

He picked them and looked at them, his forehead wrinkling. "What are they for?" 

"They're insurance forms. I'm adding you to my insurance, and they want everything in triplicate." 

"Why are you adding me to your insurance?" 

Mariah took a long sip of milk. "Well, because." 

Blair frowned. "That answers everything." 

Mariah narrowed her eyes and stared at him. "Don't give me any shit, Blair. What passes for insurance at the university is a travesty. I want to make sure there won't be any problem if you have to go to the hospital for anything." 

She held up her hand as he began to protest. "I've heard those stories about you and Jim, and I know you're on a first-name basis with most of the ER doctors, so just fill out the paperwork." 

Jim looked at Mariah's eyes and saw the stubborn set of her chin. He looked over at Blair, seeing a similar look on his face. "You guys are in for some serious trouble when that kid gets here." 

Both faces turned toward him. "What?" "Excuse me?" 

Jim grinned. "Both of you have the same damn stubborn look on your faces. I think it's safe to say that your child is going to have a stubborn streak a mile wide." 

Blair released the breath he'd been holding and looked at the papers. "Is this really that important to you?" 

Mariah nodded. "Yes, Blair, it is." 

Jim smiled and retreated to his bedroom to get ready to spend the day working out and seeing Lauren. 

Blair grabbed a pen and begin to fill out the papers. When he finished, he handed them back. "I didn't realize that insurance companies let you add people who weren't related to you." 

Jim yelled goodbye as he headed out. Blair and Mariah returned the goodbye and resumed their conversation. 

Mariah grinned as she put the paperwork back in her purse. "If you pay them enough, they will." 

Blair looked at her. "If this is costing you a fortune, don't do it." 

Mariah put her hand over Blair's. "Do you realize we've never really talked about money?" 

Blair smiled. "What's to talk about? I came to grips with the fact that you will probably always make more than me a long time ago." 

Mariah grimaced, then gave Blair a kind of chagrined smile. "Well, there's a bit more to it than that." 

Blair held up his hand. "Please, let me get more coffee before you break this to me." 

Mariah fidgeted in her seat as she waited for Blair to return to the table. He sat down and looked at her. 

"Now, I'm ready." 

"Well, I do make a good living working for Comtech, but that's kind of like the tip of the iceberg." 

Blair gaped at Mariah. "Just how big is this iceberg?" 

"Pretty big." 

Blair nodded. "Okay, I can deal with this." 

Mariah stood up and walked behind Blair, wrapping her arms around him. "I don't want to make you feel bad, I just wanted to talk to you because I'm going to have more papers for you tomorrow." 

"What papers?" 

Mariah tightened her hold on Blair a bit. "Well, I added you to my checking account, and I didn't want you to pass out when you saw how much money was in there." 

Blair closed his eyes. "Are we talking thousands and thousands?" 

"More than that." 

Blair shook his head. "I don't think I want to know, and why are you adding me to your account?" 

Mariah returned to her chair and took Blair's hands in hers. "I know you've got your pride, and I don't want to make you feel like I'm paying you for anything. It's just that...we've got the baby coming, you practically live at my house, and I want to make sure that you don't need anything. You don't have to use the checks, but if you need them, I want to make sure they're there." 

She reached up and brushed some hair behind his ear. "Besides, when I send you out at three in the morning for a few gallons of "Heavenly Hash" ice cream and Twinkies, you can just use the checkbook or card." 

Blair nodded, but Mariah could see that this conversation had bothered him. She rubbed his cheek. "Please don't let this come between us, Blair. Would you deny me your money if I needed it?" 

Blair shook his head. "No, I wouldn't, but it just feels strange the other way around." 

Mariah sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know." She pulled a checkbook and check card out of her purse and pushed them over to him. "Here you go." 

He took them in his hands and looked at them. With a smile, he looked up at Mariah. "So, if I wanted to go down and buy a Porsche, I could just write a check." 

Mariah looked at him for a moment, debating. "Yeah, you could." 

Blair stopped grinning, and his head dropped onto the table. "Oh, shit." 

Mariah rubbed his back. "Try not to let it bother you, babe. It's only money--it's what you do with it that counts." 

She rubbed his shoulders. "Besides, Jim's sort of in the same boat." 

Blair lifted his head and looked at her. "What do you mean?" 

Mariah shrugged. "We all have trust funds that ensure we will be very comfortable for the rest of our lives." 

Blair sighed. "I wonder if Jim knows about Lauren--not that I think it will matter." 

Mariah smiled. "Well, if he doesn't now, he will soon. My sisters and I were talking with our accountant a few days ago, and we all decided to let our lovers know what's going on--with the exception of Isabel and Mark." 

Blair traced a design on the table. "I always kind of wondered how Isabel opened the restaurant since it didn't look like she had any partners." 

Mariah got up and sat down in Blair's lap. He rested his head against her breasts and wrapped his arms around her waist. She gently ran her hand over his head and stroked his curls. 

"Money's only good when you use it doing something you love. Isabel loves the restaurant scene and can run the restaurant the way she wants to because of the money. Lauren loves being a cop, and she doesn't have to worry about being able to do extra things for some of the shelters and organizations that help kids. Angela loves to teach, and she doesn't have to worry if anyone decides that they don't want a lesbian teaching their children because she can always start something on her own. Jen has a gift with cars, and having enough money to open her own garage has given her time to build up a clientele that she likes. I do what I want because I don't have to worry either." 

Mariah tilted Blair's head up and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. "We use the money the way we want to, and it's been a blessing, but as long as we have the love of family and friends, it really doesn't matter." 

Blair held her tighter and nuzzled her neck. "It's just going to take me a while to get used to this." 

"I know, love, I know." 

The loft was quiet.   
  


* * *

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